Minnesota Vikings: Despite disappointing end, team in good spot to build on surprise season

The way the Vikings' 2012 season ended, with a 24-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, Jan. 5, was laced with peculiarities from the time the team's bus pulled up to Lambeau Field.

Quarterback Christian Ponder was unable to play in the game because of a deep bruise on his right triceps muscle, watching from the sideline after a short pregame throwing session proved he was unable to drive the ball.

He saw the Vikings hand the Packers one first down when defensive tackle Kevin Williams lined up in the neutral zone, and saw the Packers score a third-quarter touchdown after a 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty gave them five yards on a fourth-and-4 play. And after turning the ball over just twice in their last four games, the Vikings gave it away three times Saturday.

It all added up to an uncharacteristic loss for a team that morphed into an efficient, responsible unit through the benefit of remarkable continuity. The Vikings had an NFL-low three players on injured reserve at the end of the season, and they rarely had to take young players out of their roles as a result.

They lost just 23 turnovers during the regular season -- tied for the 12th-fewest in the league -- and while the Vikings were the seventh-most penalized team in the league, they had the third-fewest offensive holding penalties and the eighth-fewest false starts.

But as the Vikings move into 2013, with higher expectations and what looks to be a tougher schedule, it remains to be seen whether they can count on the same kind of efficiency they had this year.

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Given the fickle nature of injuries, they're unlikely to be as healthy next season, and their performance Saturday night showed they still have some work to do if they want to play consistently clean football.

"We gave up 14 points after we should have been off the field," coach Leslie Frazier said. "It is uncharacteristic. We've done a good job with penalties this year. You don't want to see unforced errors in a game like this. It's going to kill you against a good football team.

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder walks off the field after Minnesota's 24-10 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on Saturday, January 5, 2013. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

For whatever reason, it happened to us tonight."

The Vikings' improved maturity was most evident on their offensive line, where all five starters were in the lineup for all 16 games. The unit was one of the team's worst in 2011, when Vikings quarterbacks were sacked 49 times and the team was flagged for the sixth-most offensive holding penalties in the league.

With rookie Matt Kalil manning the left tackle spot, center John Sullivan blossoming in his fifth year and right tackle Phil Loadholt improving in his fourth season, Ponder was sacked just 32 times, and Vikings linemen were flagged for just seven holding penalties.

What if injuries had tested the group's depth? What if the Vikings had been in a situation like that of the Packers, who put three linemen on injured reserve and had to call right tackle Don Barclay off the practice squad? It's possible the group wouldn't have been as sound as it was this year, protecting Ponder and paving the way for Adrian Peterson to rush for 2,097 yards.

The good news for the Vikings is that most of their core players will be back in 2013. Their biggest unrestricted free agents are Loadholt, Williams, fullback Jerome Felton, linebackers Erin Henderson and Jasper Brinkley and safety Jamarca Sanford, but the Vikings should be in the financial shape to re-sign several of those players if they choose to do so.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson leaves the field after the team's loss to Green Bay. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

They will have another offseason to work with Ponder, who figures to return as the starting quarterback for 2013, and they can focus on giving him more targets for his third year in the league. That would take some of the focus off Peterson, particularly if wide receiver Percy Harvin returns from an ankle injury, and a more prolific offense could reduce the thin margin for error the Vikings had in 2012.

They were able to craft a 10-6 season and a playoff berth with the league's fourth-youngest roster largely because they were able to keep most of their pieces in place. There are no guarantees of that in 2013, though, which means the Vikings might need to improve in other areas.

"Because of the character of the men on this football team," Frazier said, "there are a lot of things we can learn from this 2012 season."